This invention relates to polytrimethylene terephthalate. In one aspect, the invention relates to the production of modified polytrimethylene terephthalate which has a reduced tendency to form acrolein when heated in air.
Polytrimethylene terephthalate is a polyester useful in fiber applications in the carpet and textile industries. The manufacture of high molecular weight polytrimethylene terephthalate commonly involves the melt condensation polymerization of 1,3-propanediol and terephthalic acid (or an alkyl ester thereof) to a low molecular weight polymer, followed by solid-state polymerization to produce a high molecular weight polyester. The 1,3-propanediol can be derived from either acrolein or ethylene oxide, but in each case the product 1,3-propanediol typically contains carbonyl-containing by-products in amounts from 50 ppm to more than 1000 ppm.
The inventor has found that when polytrimethylene terephthalate is heated in air at temperatures greater than about 100.degree. C., such as just prior to solid-state polymerization or when the finished polymer is being dried, acrolein is slowly formed. It would be desirable to produce polytrimethylene terephthalate and other 1,3-propanediol-based polyesters having a reduced tendency to generate acrolein when heated in air.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a modified 1,3-propanediol-based polyester. In a specific aspect, it is an object of the invention to provide polytrimethylene terephthalate having a reduced tendency to generate acrolein when heated in air.